Breaking Barriers ... Outgrowing Limitations

You cannot break barriers if you don’t desire expansion. There must be a nudging in your spirit saying you have been hemmed-in. 

When you begin to feel the restrictions all about you – you need to start breaking out, breaking through and breaking free from the burden.

Limitations cannot be overcome until you know you are caged.

To break barriers, effort is majorly needed from you. You have to stretch beyond limitations; not as a ‘one-time-get-it-all-done-thing’ but through persistency, fervency, and focus.

In my primary school days, I had these classmates who would bring to school their dads’ or grandpas’ magnifiers. During the break-time, we would focus the magnifiers at the sun and set it upon locusts, grasshoppers or praying-martin – and after a while, the creatures will catch fire. I was always particularly excited when those poor harmless creatures were roasted. Not because I wanted to eat them but because my childish mind was just catching fun.

When I became somehow matured; that feat taught me a great lesson about the power of focus. It made me realise that if I keep my focus on my focus, I will soon become the focus.

To get ahead; your life must be pointed towards something and be subjected to someone or principles that will serve as a guide.

To break a barrier or pull down a fence; you have to keep hitting at the wall until it falls flat. I once worked as a labourer in a construction site and we would have certain walls to pull down for re-construction. No matter how strong those walls were; by the time we began to hit them with sledge hammers, they gradually weakened and fell flat, became plain for new construction to be made instead.

If your barrier is going back to college for example; you don’t expect yourself to become a graduate in weeks. You need several years of rigorous studies and plan. You need to count your cost, save towards college, seek scholarship if there is any and work out modalities with your dependants (if there is any).

There used to be a lady working in a complex where my office was formerly located. After watching this vibrant lady for close to two years; her humility and versatility got me interested in her.  She would resume for work at 8:00am and sometimes when I would be leaving by 6:00pm, she might still be in the office. One day, I asked her, “Is this what you will be doing all your life?”

She was astonished and curtly replied, “No sir!” Then I pestered further, “Why is it you are wasting your life here in anticipation of a better tomorrow – or don’t you know that he that wastes time wastes his life?”

Chioma (not real name) opened up to me; she wanted to be a medical doctor but couldn’t get enough grades in JAMB to be admitted into her university of choice – and beside, her parents did not have enough money to train her, so she had to work hard to achieve her dream. I laughed and said to her, “You cannot be working twelve hours, five days a week and study medicine. The course is not for loafers.”

I now asked Chioma a profound question. “If you want to travel to Abia (her hometown) and you keep telling people I am going to Abia but not really moving, what would the people say about you?”

“I will be called an unserious fellow!” She replied.

I looked at her and said, “You are not serious!” She was surprised. Then I began my therapy on her.

“If a man plans to go to Abia and he doesn’t have enough money for a direct bus, he might take a bus to somewhere (like Shagamu, Ijebu-Ode or Ore) where his money could take him, work for a while in the place and raise more money to continue his journey. The people would know he had left Lagos and the people in Abia would know, he is on his way. The journey might originally be scheduled for two days but it might take him a month.”

I counselled Chioma to take shorter courses and keep her focus on Medicine. I told her she could get married and raise a family along the line but one day, she would become a medical doctor. She was so happy with the advice, she left the establishment in about six months time and started a course in a health technology school and after about three years, she had qualified as an Inspector.

Many people are like Chioma, they wanted to break barriers and live beyond all limitations but do not know how to go about it. Maybe, you also need to talk to a counsellor.  A properly roasted steak is palatable, but what would you be feeding on while it is been prepared. You either fail to plan or plan to fail.

To break barrier; answer the following question:

·        What do you really want?

·        How bad do you want it?

·        What resources are at your disposal to get it?

·        If you don’t have enough resources, how do you get the remaining to fulfil your dreams?

·        What can you be doing while gathering your resources?

·        What are the sacrifices you need to make to get on track?

Don’t forget this fact: As the longest day will have its night, so the longest night will have its morning. Morning is not necessarily the time when the clock turns 12:00 am. It is not necessarily when the day breaks. It is when you wake up.

So, wake-up!

To break your limitations; you should be able to say how far you have come, and categorically state your present spot to confirm how far you ought to have gone. Break forth! Endure the stretches and its marks!

Happy expansion!